Murodjon Akhmadaliev
The last few year's we've seen Japanese boxing go through a golden age thanks to their development of the domestic amateur scene, which is helping to develop pro-ready fighters like Naoya Inoue and Kosei Tanaka. Japan however isn't the only country set to have a golden age as Central Asian county Uzbekistan also looks set to have a special era in their boxing history.
Over the last few years we have seen the country become a major player in the amateur ranks. At the 2016 Olympics they took top spot on the medal table, with 3 gold medals and 7 medals in total, as well as having the Val Baker trophy winner Hasanboy Dusmatov, the first time an Uzbek had received the honour.
One of those medal winners was Bantamweight Murodjon Akhmadaliev (3-0, 2) [Ахмадалиев, Муроджон Кахарович], who claimed a bronze medal at Rio. That was one of a number of major medals that Akhmadaliev won in the unpaid ranks, before turning professional and being put on the fast track to professional success, much like fellow Uzbek fighters Shakhram Giyasov and Ulugbek Khakberdiev.
Born in November 1994, just a few years after Uzbekistan declared independence from the Soviet Union, Akhmadaliev was taken to the gym as a youngster and and quickly fell in love with the sport. It didn't take long at all for his love of the sport to turn into success, including competing at the Sidney Jackson Memorial in May 2012 as well as the Ahmet Comert Youth Tournament, where he came runner up in September. Only a few months later he went on to claim a silver medal at the AIBA Youth World Championships in Armenia at the end of the year, losing in the final to China's Lu Bin.
The success from 2012 built into more success the following year. In March 2013 he competed at the Asian Youth Championships, losing to eventual gold medal winner Jade Borena. Later in the year he would would move up in weight and have almost instant success by winning the Governor Cup in Russia and then end the year on a high, winning the Uzbekistan national championship.
Over the last few years we have seen the country become a major player in the amateur ranks. At the 2016 Olympics they took top spot on the medal table, with 3 gold medals and 7 medals in total, as well as having the Val Baker trophy winner Hasanboy Dusmatov, the first time an Uzbek had received the honour.
One of those medal winners was Bantamweight Murodjon Akhmadaliev (3-0, 2) [Ахмадалиев, Муроджон Кахарович], who claimed a bronze medal at Rio. That was one of a number of major medals that Akhmadaliev won in the unpaid ranks, before turning professional and being put on the fast track to professional success, much like fellow Uzbek fighters Shakhram Giyasov and Ulugbek Khakberdiev.
Born in November 1994, just a few years after Uzbekistan declared independence from the Soviet Union, Akhmadaliev was taken to the gym as a youngster and and quickly fell in love with the sport. It didn't take long at all for his love of the sport to turn into success, including competing at the Sidney Jackson Memorial in May 2012 as well as the Ahmet Comert Youth Tournament, where he came runner up in September. Only a few months later he went on to claim a silver medal at the AIBA Youth World Championships in Armenia at the end of the year, losing in the final to China's Lu Bin.
The success from 2012 built into more success the following year. In March 2013 he competed at the Asian Youth Championships, losing to eventual gold medal winner Jade Borena. Later in the year he would would move up in weight and have almost instant success by winning the Governor Cup in Russia and then end the year on a high, winning the Uzbekistan national championship.
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In 2014 Akhmadaliev would become a 2-time Uzbek champion, winning the national title in November, before claiming the a bronze at the World Cup of Petroleum Countries. Those successes allowed Akhmadaliev to put his early elimination at the Asian in September behind him without too many problems, especially given that Zhang Jiawei who eliminated him ended up claiming the Silver medal.
Akhmadaliev seemed to have a break out year in 2015. At the Asian Championships in Bangkok he claimed the silver medal, losing narrowly in the final to local hopeful Chatchai Butdee. The following month in Doha, at the World Amateur Championships, Akhmadaliev would avenge the loss to Butdee before claiming another silver medal, losing in the final Michael Conlan. In December he would again clash with Butdee at the Olympic test event in Rio, and claim a decision over Butdee in the event final. Having qualified for the Olympics, and having had such a sensational 2015, Akhmadaliev went into the 2016 Olympics with some expectations on his shoulders. In his first bout at Rio he defeated Kazakh Kairat Yeraliyev, anothher big hope of the tournament. That was followed by a stoppage win over Argentina's Alberto Melián before losing in the semi-final to eventual gold medal winner Robeisy Ramírez. After medalling at the Olympics it would have been a brilliant time for Akhmadaliev to turn professional but instead he remained as an amateur to compete at the 2017 Asian games in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent. At Asian Games Akhmadaliev was part of the dominant Uzbek team which won 9 of the 10 gold medals, with Akhmadaliev taking gold alingside the likes of Hasanboy Dusmatov, Jasurbek Latipov and Shakhram Giyasov. Sadly he wouldn't manage to win a medal at the 2017 World Amateur Championships, in Hamburg, though the tournament seemed to serve as the final major chapter of his amateur career. As well fighting in the amateurs Akhmadaliev also competed in the World Series Boxing, gaining valuable experience before deciding to turn professional, and signing with Andrey Ryabinsky and his World of Boxing, signing along with former Uzbek amateur standout Shakhram Giyasov. Not only would Akhmadaliev sign a professional deal alongside Giyasov, but he would also make his debut on the same card as Giytasov, on March 10th 2018. On his debut Akhmadaliev scored a first round TKO win over David Michael Paz at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn. The following month he was back at the Kings Theatre, stopping Carlos Gaston Suarez in 4 rounds. The Uzbek youngster would step up in class in July, taking a 6 round decision over the tough Luis Fernando Molina. In his next bout Akhmadaliev is pencilled in to take on Chilean fighter Ramon Contreras, in a 10 round bout for the WBA Inter-Continental Super Bantamweight title, a win there will see the Uzbek take a huge step towards a world ranking, and potentially a world title fight. Like many of the rising Uzbek prospects coming through the ranks Akhmadaliev is a technically strong fighter but is also a fighter with a sense of flair and excitement. He's a front foot fighter who looks to set a high tempo, back up his opponents with his jab then get to work on the inside, with some brilliant body shots. There is still work to do before he looks at winning world titles, but he has the tools to go all the way, with the need for some experience and some more physical maturity before he fights at that level. He certainly looks like he hits hard enough to get respect, but at 23 years old he's probably a couple of years away from fighting at world level. With his potential, and that of Giyasov, it seems clear that Uzbekistan have two of the brightest prospects in the sport right now, and both are managed and promoted by the same team, so expect their career to be linked a lot going forward. (Image courtesy of http://olympic.uz) |
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